student role: works to answer question or solve problem; needs to determine scope and sequence of actions; revises thinking based on feedback and integration of more information, communicates with peers, teachers.
student thinking: Planning skills: Identify the goal, then the substeps in order to get the goal.
teacher role: facilitator (guides groups when necessary); problem-poser and resource organizer; prompts students to think more deeply and revise thoughts example: (Elem) students need to construct a container that will fit a certain substance in it (provide specific perameters and then test)
Project Based Learning
student role: engaged participant; develops problem solving skills; connected to a real-world context; active thinking and working; hands-on; helps time management and organization strategies; students use real life experiences to help engage in new real word situations
student thinking: Experimentation skills. Assign different values to the variables and experiment with those values. Relate the information provided about the variables in order to get the goal of the task.
teacher role: provide a short-term or long-term context for learning; provide feedback and set structure for project; embed skills within authentic content, ask critical engaging questions example: videoconferencing with another classroom across country doing same science experiment and share findings and experiences (elem)
technologies: facebook, googledocs, video conferencing, blogs, wikispace, voicethreads, photo stories
Case Based Learning
student role: listen to story as it unfolds in real-world context; use past experiences and learn from experiences; problem-solve what could have been different and why
student thinking: Planning skills: Identify the goal, then the substeps in order to get the goal.Use the information of the domain in order to solve the case. Argumentative skills.
teacher role: structure the cognitive apprenticeship; guide students toward guiding principles of case; link to broader content to transfer understanding, set up learning community where students feel they can share thinking and ideas in a safe and respectful environment example: middle school basic economics: use case of a real small business that closed down; examine what business could do to save itself
Commonalities Among Problem/Project/Case-based Learning
All share common features (in theory,not always in practice):
Student-centered and directed
Constructivist
Engaging and motivating
Difficult to assess; use of checklist or rubric may be more beneficial than “test” or “grade”
Teacher as facilitator
Authentic; tied and focused to real- world contexts
Puts skills in context of meaningful content
Collaboration often plays a key role (co-construction of meaning)
Many opportunities for revision and reflection along the way
Teacher needs to ensure skill transfer to other contexts
Partner your classroom with another classroom anywhere in world… co-author online books; this is an example of project-based learning. For problem-based learning, students can use Millies Math house, Sammy's Science house to solve fun math and science problems.
(Secondary) students work in problem-solving pods to determine if a website is “for real”… teacher selects some real and some spoof website and students have to back up their reasoning
(College) students work in problem-solving situations with situations very similar to real life ones. Creating material and through discussions by internet.
technologies: Blackboard, facebook, googledocs, video conferencing, blogs, wikispace, skype with other classmates
Problem/Project/Case-based Learning
Problem Based Learning
student role: works to answer question or solve problem; needs to determine scope and sequence of actions; revises thinking based on feedback and integration of more information, communicates with peers, teachers.
student thinking: Planning skills: Identify the goal, then the substeps in order to get the goal.
teacher role: facilitator (guides groups when necessary); problem-poser and resource organizer; prompts students to think more deeply and revise thoughts
example: (Elem) students need to construct a container that will fit a certain substance in it (provide specific perameters and then test)
Project Based Learning
student role: engaged participant; develops problem solving skills; connected to a real-world context; active thinking and working; hands-on; helps time management and organization strategies; students use real life experiences to help engage in new real word situationsstudent thinking: Experimentation skills. Assign different values to the variables and experiment with those values. Relate the information provided about the variables in order to get the goal of the task.
teacher role: provide a short-term or long-term context for learning; provide feedback and set structure for project; embed skills within authentic content, ask critical engaging questions
example: videoconferencing with another classroom across country doing same science experiment and share findings and experiences (elem)
technologies: facebook, googledocs, video conferencing, blogs, wikispace, voicethreads, photo stories
Case Based Learning
student role: listen to story as it unfolds in real-world context; use past experiences and learn from experiences; problem-solve what could have been different and whystudent thinking: Planning skills: Identify the goal, then the substeps in order to get the goal.Use the information of the domain in order to solve the case. Argumentative skills.
teacher role: structure the cognitive apprenticeship; guide students toward guiding principles of case; link to broader content to transfer understanding, set up learning community where students feel they can share thinking and ideas in a safe and respectful environment
example: middle school basic economics: use case of a real small business that closed down; examine what business could do to save itself
Commonalities Among Problem/Project/Case-based Learning
Diagram
Technology to these methods:
- (Elementary) Epals http://www.epals.com/
Partner your classroom with another classroom anywhere in world… co-author online books; this is an example of project-based learning. For problem-based learning, students can use Millies Math house, Sammy's Science house to solve fun math and science problems.technologies: Blackboard, facebook, googledocs, video conferencing, blogs, wikispace, skype with other classmates